Duty
by katmac1202
Summary: Sequel to Protection. I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS THIS COMES FROM HONOR BOUND BY RADCLYFE.
1. Chapter 1

Graham Humbert looked up from his seat at the main monitoring station as the door to Command Central opened at 0625. He tried to suppress a grin but failed as he recognized the tall, trim, dark haired woman who strode purposefully toward him. He stood and extended his hand with a smile. "Welcome back, Commander."

Smiling warmly, United States Secret Service Agent Regina Mills shook the hand of the boyishly handsome agent. "It's good to be back, Graham." Despite the personal difficulties sure to come, she realized just how much she meant it.

She looked around the large open room that occupied the eighth floor of a brownstone apartment building overlooking Boro Grove in Manhattan. It had been almost six months since she'd been in charge of the Secret Service security detail that worked out of this space, and she had not expected to return, at least, not in any official capacity.

Heading this unit was not something she had not welcomed originally. She had spent most of her career in the investigation division of the Secret Service, tracking counterfeit funds used in illegal drug transactions. Working with members of the DEA, ATF, and Treasury Department in the field, she had considered the protective branch of the Secret Service to be a place for rookies and desk jockeys. Guarding diplomats, foreign visitors, and members of political families did not interest her.

Until now. Now, it mattered a great deal.

"Is Cobra back on the ground yet? Regina asked. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to work out the stiffness from her midnight flight. She'd been in Miami on a new assignment, pursuing a trail of treasury forgeries that the agency hoped would lead to a network of cocaine importers, when the call had come reassigning her.

This change in her orders was completely unexpected, and the fact that she had been instructed to report to New York City immediately, with no explanation and briefing in DC, bothered her. No one had suggested that there was potential trouble on this end, but then that didn't mean anything. The federal government depended upon multiple security agencies with overlapping spheres of interest and influence, and there were never ending turf struggles. Even those with a need to know often didn't get critical information until it as too late to be useful. She'd had personal experience with that more than once. And once, it had nearly destroyed her.

"Long flight?" Graham couldn't help but notice the strain in her expression.

"The usual." Shaking off the cloud of fatigue, she dispelled the memories along with it. She wouldn't let that kind of screw up happen here, not with something—someone—so important at stake. She would find out who, or what, was behind her transfer.

But first things first. She had work to do before her initial meeting with the woman she was charged to protect. A woman who, under the best of circumstances, was an unwilling participant in her own protection, and one who was certain to be even more resistant now.

Regina refocused on Graham. "I'll need to be briefed before I meet with her. I've been on the air most of the night and haven't been informed of her location."

"She's back in the nest." Graham said, pointing towards the ceiling and the penthouse apartment above them that comprised the top floor of the building. "They returned from China late last night. But Cobra didn't want to remain in Washington. They came up by car about 0300. That wasn't the plan."

"I guess some things never change." Regina smiled to herself. _She always has to remind everyone who's really in charge of her life._

Graham shook his head, but he wasn't smiling. He regarded his chief seriously for a moment and tried not to think about how close she had come to dying only months before. She looked fit and healthy now, but he knew that she had only been back on active duty for six weeks. As usual when on duty, she wore an amazing tailored, understatedly expensive suit and appeared capable, competent, and cool, all the things he knew she was. He also knew from experience that it was hard to tell very much beyond that just by looking at her. She rarely revealed what she was feeling, but could always be counted on to say exactly what she was thinking.

"The team will be very happy to have you back." He said.

"What about you, Graham?" She leaned one hip against the edge of the desk, her dark brown eyed studying his. "I'm bumping you out of the commander's seat."

"You mean out of the hot seat?" He laughed, shook his head, and leaned back in the swivel chair, gesturing with one hand to the array of computer monitors, audiovisual equipment, and satellite feeds from the NYPD and New York Transit Authority on the long counter in front of him. "I'm an information man. This is what I want to be doing, and these last few months of doing your job proved it to me."

"Good." Regina said quickly. "I'm glad you're okay with it, because no one is more important than the communications coordinator, and I need the best."

"Thanks." Graham felt good about her confidence in him. "You're doing me a big favor, Commander. I'm no good at VIP stuff, and with this kind of detail, that's key."

Regina didn't need him to tell her that knowing how to handle high profile personalities was a requirement of the work. It was one of the reasons she was good at this particular assignment, and it was also the reason her next task was going to be so difficult. Emma Swan, code name Cobra, had had Regina removed once as head of her security detail, and she was going to be very displeased to find she had returned.

She has every right to be angry. This reassignment changes everything. Jesus, how am I going to explain this to her?

Six weeks ago, they had spent five nights in one another's arms. If she had known then that she would be back heading Emma's security detail, she might have made a different choice. Yeah, right.

Emma's face briefly flickered into her mind, and the instant surge of heat that accompanied the image told her she was kidding herself. She had wanted her then, badly. Had wanted her for months, too much for procedure or protocol to have stopped her. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about those feelings now that circumstances had changed, but the one thing she did know was that she had a job to do.

Regina stood suddenly. "I'll see everyone at 0700 in the conference room. Bring what you have in your itinerary for the week, projected out of town events for the near future, all pertinent problematic field reports from the time I was gone, and anything else that you think needs my attention. I need to be up to speed by the time I meet with her this morning."

Graham nodded, then watched Regina walk toward the small glass enclosed cubicle in one corner that served as their conference center. He saw her looking casually left and right toward the center of the room where several work areas were separated by low dividers. He knew that she was assessing the monitoring equipment that the men and woman assigned to her command utilized twenty-four hours a day to observe and protect the only child of the president of the United States.

* * *

At precisely 0700, Regina walked into the conference room carrying her second cup of coffee. She set it down at the end of the rectangular table and looked over the faces turned towards her. They were all familiar. No one had transferred out during her absence, and that pleased her because all of them were confirmed good agents. She had seen to that when she took command almost a year before, demanding that anyone not one hundred percent committed to the task of guarding the president's daughter transfer out. Those who had chosen to stay had proven themselves under fire.

"Well," she began, allowing a faint grin to pull at one corner of her mouth. "At least I won't have to learn any new names. And we can skip all the introductory bull and get down to business." She looked down the room to where Graham sat with a pile of papers in front of him. "Graham?"

"Nothing new planned on the foreign front until the trip to Paris with the vice president and his wife next month."

"Right." Regina settled into her chair with her PDA. "We'll need the routine advance information on motorcade routes, local hospitals, and transit lines for each day's events. That should all be in the database. I assume they'll be staying at the usual hotel. That needs to be confirmed."

She turned to the to the intellectual looking individual woman on her left, who happened to be fluent in nine languages with a working command of seven others. "Are you still doing the advance work on the foreign travel, Carter?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Then you can contact the secretary at the Protocol Department in Paris to review the scheduled functions, charity dinners, museums outings, whatever they have planned. I want guest lists for any pre-announced gatherings and seating placements for theatre and dinner engagements." The French were notorious for changing itineraries last minute, and Paris was an international city where terrorism was a very real threat. "Keep after them. Make sure we're current by the time we're in the air. I don't want to be surprised."

"Got it."

"Stern." She looked at the woman two seats to her left.

"Ma'am?"

"Check with your buddies in intelligence and make sure we have the latest of any activity in France, particularly active cells in Paris. I want photos and bios distributed to tall team members before we depart. Graham will schedule pre-flight briefing sometime the week before we leave."

Joy Carter and Katherine Stern nodded and made notes while Regina signaled Graham to continue. He shuffled some printouts and said, "Domestically, there is an opening at the Rodman gallery in San Francisco in three weeks."

"Where's she staying?" Regina asked absently, her mind still on the Paris details. International travel placed any recognizable political figure at risk, and when that individual represented a country as widely hated as the USA, the risk escalated.

"We don't know yet." Graham sounded uncomfortable.

Regina looked up, narrowing her eyes. "You don't know? She must have reservations by now. Who's handling her itinerary."

Graham blushed but kept his eyes on hers. He had forgotten how unforgivable she could be about any breach in protocol. He prepared himself to be dressed down. "She is, Commander."

"She is." Regina repeated in disgust. She knew damn well it wasn't Graham's fault. Struggling with her temper, she closed her electronic notebook and stood. "Is there anything pressing that the team needs to discuss this morning, Graham?"

"No, ma'am."

"Who's heading the day shift?" She looked over the team.

"I am, ma'am." The answer came from a smooth featured, dark haired woman in her late twenties. She might have been any one of the earnest athletic, all-American types so often associated with government agents except for the surprising intensity in her voice.

"Fine." Regina acknowledged with a quick nod. After one nearly career-ending lapse in judgement, Ruby Lucas had proven herself to be cool and levelheaded. She was an invaluable asset as a member of the shift that spent the most time in direct contact with the first daughter. "Ten go get your detail organized."

"Yes, ma'am." Ruby replied, getting to her feet.

"Graham," Regina asked crisply, "if I might speak with you, please."

Chairs scraped as agents hastened to get out of the conference room. They's all seen Regina take people apart if she felt they had been sloppy in protecting the first daughter, no matter how difficult Emma Swan might make the job.

When they were alone, Regina looked at Graham and raised an eyebrow. "Okay. You want to tell me what the hell is going on? First, I get called back with no explanation and no notice. Then you say that Cobra is bypassing normal security protocols. What else is happening that I don't know about? I can't work in the dark here."

"I'd tell you if I could, Commander, but I don't know why you've been recalled." He looked across the table into Regina's unreadable dark eyes and he chose his words carefully. He liked her, he respected her, her was happy to serve under her. But they weren't friends. They didn't share personal confidences. He didn't know, for sure, what her past with the first daughter had been. "No one reported any problems to me, either about my command or anything else. As for Ms. Swan, Ms. Swan is difficult."

Regina almost smiled at the enormous understatement but did not. She remained silent, watching him, waiting for the rest.

"She remains very reluctant to reveal her plans or destinations. She refuses to discuss personal...uh, relationships, so we have no intelligence regarding potential threats from that area. She slips our surveillance." He halted at the soft curse from Regina, then added quickly, "Not very often, but it happens."

"You reported that?" Regina asked. Fighting fatigue, she rubbed her face briefly. God, Emma is stubborn. But she couldn't blame her, not really. Living under the constant close examination of strangers was wearing, even under ordinary circumstances. And Emma Swan's circumstances were far from ordinary.

Graham straightened. "no, ma'am, I did not."

"Reasons?" She stared at him hard. The kind of breakdown in security he was describing usually demanded reassignment of the agents involved, often with demotions. But she knew Graham Humbert, and she knew he wouldn't bypass regulations just to save his own skin.

He met her gaze directly, and his voice was steady and sure. "Because she works with us most of the time, and I made the command decision that she was safer with us than with replacements she might not trust. Even if there were some problems."

Privately, Regina agreed. She had made similar choices herself where Emma was concerned. Had she been asked at the time, she wouldn't have been able to defend these, not according to regulations. But then, Emma Swan couldn't be dealt with by the book.

"I guess I'd better inform Cobra that I'm here." Regina stated. She wondered just how much Graham knew. "I'll review the plans for the remainder of the week with you later."

He stood. "Yes, ma'am."

As he watched her walk out, he understood that the subject of his breach in protocol was closed. Whoever had made the call to bring Regina Mills back as commander of the first daughter's security detail knew what they were doing. Regina understood what it took to guard Emma Swan. He wondered momentarily what would happen upstairs when Cobra learned of the change in command and decided there was some information he would rather not have. What he didn't know, he couldn't testify about.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma Swan, in paint splattered jeans and a t-shirt with the sleeves and lower half carelessly ripped away, stared at a paintbrush in her hand. She walked slowly back and forth in front of the unfinished work, her mind as empty as she could make it. She let the color, the movement, and the depth of the images take form without conscious direction. Just as she reached to add a hint of red to one corner, her doorbell rang.

"Damn." She muttered, glancing at the clock at the far end of her loft. Just a little after eight a.m. It was much too early for a briefing with Graham, but it couldn't be anyone else. She didn't get unexpected visitors.

She set the brush aside and wiped her hands on a soft cloth. Pushing a stray strand of blond hair behind one ear, she crossed to the door. When, out of habit, she glanced through the peephole, she blinked in surprise and stopped with her hand on the doorknob. She looked again, her heart suddenly racing. Hurriedly, she pulled open the door.

"Regina!" She didn't try to hide her pleasure, an uncommon lapse in her usual reserve. Emma had learned not to allow her emotions to show, because her feelings were the only private things still left to her.

Since she was twelve years old, her father had been a public figure, and as a result, she had been as well. Strangers had photographed her, or written about her, or sought to be close to her, all because of her father. Bombarded with all that attention, she had never been sure if someone really cared for her or merely her reputation. Regina had been different, and Emma had let her get close.

"I can't believe it. God, I've missed you."

Regina's pulse quickened. It had only been six weeks, but it had felt like months. Emma was every bit as beautiful as the last time Regina had seen her. Blond hair verging on gold, thick and wild with a hint of curl, fell around her face in an untamed mane. Blazing green eyes and a smile that could melt the polar ice caps made an already attractive face stunning. A deceptively lithe body hid well-toned muscles. And underneath all that, rage coupled with an unbendable will. Astonishing.

"Hello, Emma." Regina wanted to touch her but couldn't. She didn't want to hurt her and knew she was about to. Her face revealed little of her desire or her regret as she smiled softly.

Emma was too intent on how good it was to see her to notice the slight reservation in Regina's tone. She reached out, grabbed the agent's hand, and pulled her into the loft, slamming the door behind them. In the next instant, she had her hands in Regina's hair, her lips on Regina's mouth, and her body pressed hard against Regina's, pinning her to the wall. When she'd temporarily satisfied her need to taste her, she pulled away a fraction and gasped. "I've missed that, too. It feels like forever."

"Emma..." Regina made an enormous effort to get her body under control. The unexpected onslaught had gone straight to her head. And other places. Her stomach knotted with need and her blood burned. She felt herself swell and grow heavy with arousal.

Shaking her head, she tried to quiet her lust. She had to tell her, and quickly, because she wasn't strong enough to resist. Didn't want to resist. "I..."

"When did you get back?" Emma threaded her arms around Regina's waist and leaned her hips into her. "I thought you were still on that case in Florida. Did it wrap up already?"

As she spoke, Emma started working on the buttons on Regina's shirt with one hand. She had been planning on spending the day painting, but that was before, her fingers shook she was so hot for her.

They'd had only a few days together, and that had been weeks ago. Five short days after almost a year of denying the attraction growing between them. A near tragedy had finally brought them together, then Regina had left for Florida and Emma had accompanied her father to Southeast Asia. Nothing about the future had been settled, there hadn't been time, but none of that mattered at this moment.

"God, I want you." Emma whispered, almost groaning the words. No one, no one had ever done this to her before. Made her want so badly, or ache so deeply. More than sex, more than intimacy. Regina created an explosive combination of the two that scorched through her, leaving her always hungry.

"Emma." Regina gasped, grabbing for the hand on her shirt. "Wait."

"Too late." Emma laughed, throaty and low, shifting to straddle Regina's thigh. The added pressure between her legs made her gasp again, her eyes closing momentarily with the rush of excitement. "Oh, God. Way too late, baby. I need your hand on me. Now. I'm so, so ready."

"I'm working, Emma." Regina said gently, feeling her shudder and hoping Emma couldn't sense her own urgent response. Trembling, suddenly light headed, she swallowed a moan as Emma thrust into her again. "We can't."

"You can be a few hours late for wherever you need to be. You're a regional director now." Emma muttered. She wasn't really listening to anything except the need singing through her pelvis. "I can't wait."

 _She'll never forgive me_. Regina moved her fingers to Emma's wrist, circling it softly. "I'm working now, Emma. Here."

Something in Regina's tone finally penetrated Emma's consciousness, a hint of sympathy that eclipsed the desire Emma could feel simmering in Regina's body. With effort, she took one step away so that their bodies were no longer in contact. Her hands shook. She shivered lightly but ignored the rush of persistent arousal.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice unnaturally calm.

She searched Regina's eyes for the answer, because Regina's eyes never lied. Not to her. What she saw in them hurt, deeply. Hurt in a way she hadn't thought she could ever hurt again.

"Damn you." Emma whispered on a breath, not knowing which of them she meant. "What have you done?"

"I've been reassigned, Emma. To you." Regina watched Emma back away, forced to let her go. _Jesus, I had hoped it wouldn't be this hard I just need a little time to find out what's going on. Then I can explain, make you understand_. "Emma."

"When?" Emma interrupted coldly, retreating across the room. She needed space between them. She had to stop wanting her long enough to think. "When did you find out?"

"Yesterday."

"And you said yes? Without even talking to me?" _What about us? Didn't that mean anything to you? I thought...oh, what I fool I was to think._

"Emma, please." Regina said quietly. "There was no time. I received a directive order from my superiors informing me that the president of the United States requested me to resume responsibility for his daughter's security. I could hardly say no."

"Of course, you could." Emma said bitterly. "If you wanted to. There are plenty of other people who can do that job. Graham is handling it just fine." Don't do this. Please don't do this.

"It's just not that simple." Regina said, knowing her words would not help. She wasn't sure how to explain that part of her didn't want anyone else to do the job. Couldn't explain that every day while she was somewhere else, doing something else, she worried about Emma. She couldn't forget that there was a creep who had stalked Emma, photographed her, left messages for her, and ultimately, shot at her, and he was still out there. She wanted to be with her. She needed to be with her. "It's not just about us."

"No. It never is." Emma turned away, struggling with disappointment and betrayal.

Clearly, whatever she thought had been developing between them was over. Regina Mills was not the kind of woman to compromise her professional ethics by carrying on a secret affair with someone she was supposed to be guarding. It would have been difficult for them to see each other under any circumstances, now it would be impossible. Emma swallowed her pride and made one last attempt to undo what had already been done. This decision had been made without regard for her feelings, like so many others in her life.

"I could speak to my father." Emma said, disguising the hope in her voice. "The security director can name someone else to command the detail."

"I'm sorry." Regina struggled not to go to her. No matter how hard Emma tried to hide it, Regina could hear her anguish. "There's a reason I've been recalled. I don't know what it is yet, and neither does Graham. Until I find out, I'd prefer you not say anything."

"This is what you want?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you, but your safety is more important than anything else."

"That's not an answer, that's an excuse. Answer me, Regina. Is heading my security detail more important than us?"

"Yes."

Emma's face was careful blank. "Well, that's it then, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry." Regina said again, unwilling to offer further excuses that would only be insulting to them both.

For the time being, she didn't have any choice except to assume the responsibility that had been given to her. And in truth, she wouldn't want it any other way. She had to know what was happening. Still, watching Emma's eyes turn cold rocked her. She couldn't think about losing her, not and still do what she needed to do.

"No need to be sorry, Commander." Emma said dismissively. "We both know how important your job is to you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm busy."

Regina worked to keep her voice neutral. "I understand. I'll need to discuss plans for the rest of the week with you."

Emma walked past her, careful not to touch her, and opened the door. "Then you can come back this afternoon for the scheduled briefing."

"As you wish." Regina said resignedly, stepping into the hall.

The silence that ensued when the door closed solidly behind her was lonelier than anything she could ever have imagined.

* * *

"Graham." Regina said into her transmitter as she keyed the penthouse elevator outside Emma's apartment.

"Go ahead, Commander." Graham automatically checked the monitor providing visual surveillance of the hallway in front of the elevator. His eyes switched to the adjoining screen showing the interior of the elevator as Regina stepped in.

"Sign me out to my apartment." She said. "It's the same address as before. Someone pulled a few strings to get it back for me."

She wanted a shower, a change of clothes, and a few minutes to herself. She needed to banish the sound of Emma's disappointment and the image of pain in her eyes. She had to meet with her later in the day to confirm the agenda for the upcoming weeks, and she needed to be in control of herself when she did.

The very first moment she had seen Emma Swan, she'd been attracted to her. Out of duty, she had ignored those feelings for months. But, as time passed, she had come to know her, and desire had turned to caring. She hadn't been able to withstand both the demands of her body and the yearning of her heart, and, finally, she gave in.

Finally, she had touched her.

But it had been different then, then she hadn't been charged with protecting her. For those five days, she hadn't been a Secret Service agent and Emma had not been the first daughter. Now, everything had changed, she was professionally responsible for Emma's safety again. Now, she would somehow have to learn to live with her need, because she wasn't going to be able to touch her again.

Already, she ached with the loss.

Graham studied Regina's face in the monitor, and even with the mild distortion of the transmitted image, he could make out the tense set of her jaw and the grim line of her mouth. _Uh-oh. Things must not have gone well with Cobra_. He wasn't surprised. Regina Mills had been shot in the line of duty, shot while guarding Emma Swan. Shot in place of Emma Swan when she'd stepped in front of her and stopped a bullet from a sniper's rifle.

The commander didn't remember the nightmarish scene as she's lain bleeding on the sidewalk while agents surrounded Cobra and dragged her to cover. Graham remembered it very well.

He remembered the president's daughter screaming Regina's name as Regina went down, and her struggling to break free of the restraining arms, struggling to go to the dying agent, careless of her own safety. He remembered her sitting by Regina's bedside for almost two days while Regina's life hung in the balance. And he knew, too, that Emma Swan had requested that Regina be removed from her security detail once she recovered. He couldn't imagine she would be happy about this new arrangement.

"You're scheduled for a briefing with Cobra at 1300 hours." He said while glancing over the day's events printed out on a clipboard by his right hand. When in doubt, revert to procedure.

"I've got that." She snapped as she walked quickly through the lobby, nodding to the doorman as he hastened to hold the double glass doors for her.

Once outside, she stopped under the short green awning and surveyed the rooftops, barely visible through the trees, of the buildings across the park. It was the first time she had been back since the shooting. She stared at the sidewalk and recalled seeing the fine red mist on her hands and the clear, blue sky overhead as she lay on her back, feeling life slip away. She shivered lightly, thinking that it might have been Emma that day and not her. Then she shrugged the memory away and crossed the street toward her apartment on the other side of the square.

When she's stripped off her jacket and eased out of her weapon harness, she walked to the windows that overlooked Boro Grove directly opposite the Hamelin. Staring at Emma's penthouse, she thought about her up there now, in that space that should have been a haven. The windows facing the street in Emma's loft were bulletproof, the fire escape ended one level below her floor, and the skylights on the roof were crisscrossed with woven titanium mesh that would require a blowtorch to cut. A posh fortress, but a subtle prison nonetheless.

Regina couldn't blame her for hating it. She couldn't even blame Emma for being angry with her. She wished she could change it, but the facts of Emma's life were beyond anyone's control.

She turned away from the image of Emma's smile and the memory of Emma in her arms. Wanting her would not help either of them now.

* * *

After Regina left, Emma waited motionless on the other side of the door, listening to the distant hum of the elevator climbing to the penthouse to carry Regina downstairs. Long after she knew Regina was gone, she hoped foolishly that the agent might return. By the time she finally turned back into her empty loft, she had managed to replace longing with anger, a familiar antidote to disappointment.

If only she could convince her body that she no longer cared. Regina's arrival that morning had been so unexpected that she hadn't done anything except react. Few women had ever been able to excite her the way Regina Mills did, with little more than a smile. It was one of the things that made her security chief so frightening. Emma made a point of keeping everyone at arm's distance, physically and emotionally, but she failed miserably with Regina. She'd been ready in a heartbeat just at the sight of her standing outside in the hall.

Walking through the loft, she was still throbbing with the aftermath of unanswered arousal. She was so angry with herself for allowing this to happen that even her body's automatic response seemed like a betrayal.

"Shower." She muttered under her breath, shedding clothes as she crossed to the partitioned area in the corner that connected to her sleeping alcove.

She twisted the dial and stepped under the still cold spray, gasping at first contact. Her nipples were still full and tender from the recent stimulation, and the wetness between her legs was not from the water running down her body. She leaned against the far wall and let the warming cascade engulf her. She closed her eyes, and that was a mistake.

As soon as she shuddered to the soothing beat of the water on her skin, she saw Regina's face. She felt Regina's body along the length of her own, remembered being pressed together against the door. She imagined Regina's hands on her, just as she had imagined them so many times during the weeks they had been apart. Ordinarily such remembrances produced just a pleasant hum of pleasure, but she was already aroused, painfully so. The pinpricks of heat on her skin seemed to streak directly between her legs, and the tingling pressure building there warred with her self-control.

 _I will not think about her._

She grabbed the soap and began to lather her neck and chest, smoothing her palms over her breasts and stomach. The flicker of fingers passing over her nipples made her breath catch. Without consciously meaning to, she caught one between her thumb and forefinger and squeezed, arching her back slightly into the warm spray as the sharp pinpoint of pleasure pain seared down her spine. It was too good, too good not to lift her hands and cup both breasts, squeezing as she rhythmically twisted her erect nipples until all she could feel was a steady burning pleasure beneath her fingertips.

Legs trembling, she pressed her shoulders harder against the rear shower wall for support. She ached inside. Still massaging her breasts with one hand, she pressed the other to her stomach, running her fingers lightly over her skin, moving lower with each stroke. Her pulse beat between her legs like a second heart. She knew how hard she was, had felt the stiff swelling as she straddles Regina's thigh. If she touched herself, she would never be able to stop. She had been close the minute her lips had found Regina's mouth.

 _I am always so damn ready for her_. She imagined Regina's fingers where her own brushed through the hair at the base of her belly, and her clit twitched.

"Ah, God." She whispered, shuddering at the memory. She needed to ease the pressure, couldn't think of anything else. Her fingers slid lower, one on each side of her swollen clit. Her hips jerked as she squeezed lightly, and she had to brace herself with one arm against the wall to keep from falling.

Her mind was empty of everything except the exquisite sensation of her fingertips rubbing over her blood engorged flesh. She was dimly conscious of her muscles quivering and the pounding pressure of her orgasm building. Faintly, she heard herself whimpering with each teasing stroke. Neck arched, she thrust her hips steadily back and forth as her hand moved faster between her legs, setting her nerves on fire. When the inferno roared from her pelvis and scorched along her veins, she chocked back a cry, her fingers squeezing down with each spasm, milking each pulsation to the very end.

As the contractions finally stopped, she leaned weakly forward into the spray, both arms outstretched, palms against the opposite wall, barely able to stand. Her body was satisfied, but she took no satisfaction from it. She still felt hollow.

"Damn you, Regina." She whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

At 1255, Regina approached Emma's building for their briefing. Two things occurred simultaneously. The earphone connected to her radio transmitter crackled to life, and she saw Emma Swan flag down a cab, slide into the rear seat, and disappear as the vehicle pulled away into traffic.

"Commander. Please be advised that Cobra is flying solo." Graham's voice informed her. "unit one has been dispatched but does not have visual."

Regina turned abruptly, stepped into the street, and hailed one of the many taxis passing by, practically walking in front of it to force it to stop. As she pulled open the front door, she extended a hand displaying her open badge folder. "I need you to follow that cab up ahead."

The taxi driver stared at her. "You're kidding, right?"

Regina shook her head and got in beside him, her eyes following Emma's vehicle around the square. "I wish I were. You're going to lose them if you don't get going."

It was something about the utter stillness in her face and the unnatural calm in her voice that made him face forward, sit up straight, and, with his hands gripping the wheel tightly, execute a performance of New York City driving that would have won him a trophy at Daytona. He pulled to stop ten feet and twenty-five seconds behind the cab that had carried Emma to a small café shop deep in the heart of Middlemist Village.

"Thanks." Regina handed him a twenty as she stepped out.

He leaned across the seat to look up at her. Her sculpted features, dark hair, and deep voice seemed familiar, and he thought he finally understood.

"You're making a movie, right?"

She didn't answer. She was already halfway across the sidewalk.

As soon as she entered the small storefront café, she located Emma seated with another woman at a small table for two in the rear. Emma looked up at the sound of the chime over the door, her eyes meeting Regina's, but she gave no sign of recognition. Regina threaded her way through the few tables to the counter and ordered a double espresso. While she waited, she glanced around the room, noting the location of the exits and the general position of the few patrons, mostly twenty something reading newspapers or working on sleek laptops.

She paid and picked up the small espresso cup, moving to the opposite corner of the room from where Emma was seated. She chose a small circular table in the front corner, her back to the wall. From there, she could watch the front and rear doors as well as everyone in the room without infringing on Emma's conversation. She would have been happier to have a car out front in case they needed to leave quickly, and she hoped unit one, Ruby Lucas and her partner, would arrive momentarily. They'd been scrambling into one of the unmarked SUVs in front of Emma's apartment building as she went by in the cab.

Fortunately, most civilians didn't recognize Emma when she went out dressed casually, with her hair down and wearing little to no make-up. Today, in jeans, a navy cotton V-neck sweater over her white t-shirt and, and scuffed boots, she looked like most of the young citizens of the neighborhood. The paparazzi usually recognized public figures only when they were attired formally and placed in the appropriate surroundings. That was one thing that made Regina's job easier. Because Emma Swan certainly didn't.

"'Commander?" Ruby's voice asked in her ear.

"Yes." Regina murmured, tilting her head slightly as she listened to Ruby relay her position. She gave Ruby her exact location and informed her that she'd stay inside with Emma. "Just maintain in the vehicle outside.

"Roger that." Ruby replied sadly, wondering just how pissed off her commander was going to be that they had just let Emma Swan walk unescorted right out of the building. The president's daughter hadn't pulled one of her old tricks in so long that when she called for the elevator and announced she was going to the lobby to get her mail, they hadn't brought the car around front in anticipation. When they finally realized that she had exited the building and was hailing a cab, they'd lost two minutes mobilizing. Ruby sighed, settling back to watch the door to the café and the people going in and out.

Forty minutes later, the statuesque blond with Emma stood up and crossed the room to Regina's table. She leaned down far enough to show more cleavage than could easily be ignored and said in her low throaty voice, "How nice to see you again, Commander. Emma tells me that you're back in charge of her."

Regina shifted slightly so that she could keep Emma in her sightline. "I'm not sure I'd phrase it precisely that way, Ms. Boyd." She said with a faint smile, her eyes following Emma as she gathered her things.

"Actually, Emma didn't put it exactly that way either. The way she described it was quite a bit more colorful." Ashley Boyd said provocatively. In fact, Ashley had sensed that Emma was on the verge of tears through much of the conversation, although she wasn't certain if they were tears of anger or tears of pain. Even if she was right, she knew that Emma would never give in to them, particularly when the woman at the heart of her distress was sitting fifteen feet away.

No one who didn't know Emma very well would even have realized how distraught she was. Ashley knew because she and Emma had been friends since they were teenagers together at prep school, and she knew because six weeks ago Emma had asked to use Ashley's apartment while Ashley was in Europe.

It had been a long time since Emma had brought a lover to Ashley's, because Emma rarely slept with anyone more than once and rarely planned for it in advance. She didn't need to plan an anonymous love affair with a woman she met by chance in a dark bar or at a high society fundraiser. When Ashley had asked who she was planning on seducing, Emma's silence had been telling. Whoever she was, she mattered. Now, Ashley had a very good idea just who that woman had been.

During a brief moment of madness, she contemplated informing the strikingly handsome, dark haired security agent that she was making the biggest mistake of her life. If she chose to be Emma's protector rather than her lover, no matter how noble her motives, Emma would never forgive her.

But Ashley knew she wouldn't say anything, today or any other day, and she wasn't altogether proud of the reasons why. Despite her long friendship with Emma, they had always been attracted to the same women, and most of the time they have been good natured about the competition because it was all in fun, the chase, the seduction, the achievement. This time it was different. For Emma to admit any feelings at all for a woman, it had to be serious. Even knowing that, Ashley couldn't deny the quick surge of attraction she felt every time she saw Regina Mills.

"It was nice to see you again." Regina said, rising, but her attention was on Emma, who was walking towards the front door. "If you would excuse me." She stepped away to follow Emma.

Out on the street, Emma had turned and was watching Regina come through the door. At the same time, Ruby stepped out of the car that had been idling across the street from the café. Regina waved Ruby back and walked over to Emma.

"It makes it difficult when we don't know where you are going." Regina said quietly, although she knew very well that Emma was aware of that.

"Apparently, the rules of this engagement can change at any time." Emma shrugged slightly. She wasn't able to keep the edge of bitterness from her voice. "Fair is fair."

Regina nodded and met Emma's heated gaze. "I know it must seem that way, and I'm sorry. For the time being, we're both going to have to live with it."

"No, we don't. You made the decision, I'll deal with it any way I want." Emma shook her head dismissively and turned her back, moving quickly away down the sidewalk.

 _Damn it._ Regina caught up with her and fell into step, automatically placing herself between Emma and the street. She knew without looking that Ruby and her partner would follow slowly behind them in an unmarked vehicle.

"There's no point in putting yourself in danger because you're angry with me, Emma." Regina persisted gently. "If you'll let us do what we need to do, I'll intrude on your private life as little as possible."

Emma stopped suddenly and faced Regina, regardless of the complaining people who had to suddenly step around them on the narrow sidewalk. In a low, seething tone, she asked, "Has it occurred to you, Commander, that I wanted you to intrude on my private life? You. Not strangers twenty-four hours a day. Just you."

Regina ran a hand through her hair, struggling with both frustration and temper. She wanted to explain to Emma that she did care, and that she didn't plan for this to happen, and that it was torture to see her and not be able to touch her.

"Emma..."

Someone ran into her shoulder as they passed, and she swore under her breath. A public sidewalk was no place to have this discussion. If she had only managed to keep her own emotions under control when she had first been assigned to Emma Swan's security detail, none of this would be happening now. She had allowed herself to give in first to physical attraction, and then to emotional attachment. Now she had entangled them both in a situation for which there were no rules and only potential disaster.

She grimaced because she could see the pain in Emma's eyes, and she didn't have the luxury of explaining herself at the moment. Not here, not now.

"Can we talk about this in a somewhat more secure location?"

Emma laughed darkly, unable to help herself. If there was one thing she could count on with Regina Mills, it was that no matter what was happening, Regina would never let it interfere with her duty. And she hated being Regina's duty.

She started walking again. "I don't think there's anything left to talk about. You made your decision. I don't intend to adjust my life to make yours easier. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the gym and beat the crap out of someone."

"Ernie's?" Regina asked, remembering the third-floor hole in the wall establishment that Emma had somehow managed to frequent for six months before anyone in the security detail realized that she was there and not at her massage therapists around the corner.

"Ernie's is the one place I can go that no one knows me and no one cares where I come from or where I'll be going back to. The only thing they care about is what I do in the ring." She wasn't in the mood for company. "I'd like to keep it that way."

"Wait a minute." Regina hurried to keep step with her through the narrow streets. She barely stopped herself from grabbing Emma's arm to slow her down. "Are you trying to say that no one has been inside with you?"

"Not upstairs. One look at the cop looking boys and half the guys up there would have jumped out the window to get away."

"That's my point. Damn it." Emma should never be left unguarded, even in the most secure circumstances. Exceptions occasionally occurred, but they were rare, and Ernie's was not one of them. It was a tough, almost exclusively male crowd, and Regina was willing to bet there was more than one man there outside the law. "I can't believe Graham didn't put someone in there with you."

"It's happened before, if you remember."

The biting tone of Emma's voice told Regina what she meant. She and Emma had spent five nights together of Ashley's apartment while Ashley was in Europe. None of the team had actually been in the apartment with Emma, but there had been a car with two agents parked on the street in front of the building. If the people stationed outside knew that Emma was not alone, no one had ever given any indication.

Regina hadn't liked placing fellow agents in a situation that they might later have to lie about, but at the time, she hadn't been assigned to Emma's security detail. Their few hours together each evening was personal, personal and intimate and no one else's business. She wasn't hypocritical enough to deny, even to herself, that she and Emma had tried to keep their meetings a secret, but they had not purposely avoided the Secret Service agents either.

"I remember." Regina steeled herself, refusing to discuss their personal issues when there was a real threat to Emma's safety to deal with, and knowing how Emma would react. "But the gym is an entirely different situation. You're in unsecured surroundings with two dozen men who, even if they don't recognize you, might present threats. If you were recognized, absolutely anything could happen, from simple harassment to abduction."

Her words were met with stony silence, but she continued.

"I don't know how you have managed to keep the team away from here, and I'm not certain I want to know, but I can't let you go alone."

"I know that." Emma snapped, turning down the alley that led to the unmarked, unpainted door that was the street entrance to the third-floor gym. "Usually a car waits just at the end of the alley. That should be good enough. I've been coming her for years. No one will bother me."

"I'm coming up with you." Regina said grimly. It was too late to change plans now, and since she was only immediately available, the responsibility fell to her.

"You can come up if you want, Commander." Emma stopped with her hand on the door and glanced at Regina, her face completely unreadable, her eyes flat and expressionless. "But I would prefer that you stay away from me."

With that, she opened the door and took the stairs two at a time, leaving Regina to follow.

* * *

Minutes later, Regina leaned against one wall, her hands in the pockets of her trousers, watching two fighters prepare to spar in the ring opposite her. Automatically, she gave the entire room and its occupants a thorough examination, noting how many people were present and each individual's position.

The top floor of the warehouse was dimly lit by what little natural light managed to seep through dirty windows situated well above head level and augmented by fluorescent fixtures dangling from heavy chains in the cavernous ceiling. The combination cast the entire space in a harsh, flickering haze. Sparring rings stood in each of the three corners. In the fourth, a space was partitioned off from the larger room by plywood and exposed two by fours and served as the business office and makeshift locker rooms.

When she and Emma had first entered, Emma had disappeared into the tiny women's dressing area, which was nothing more than a closet with a curtain strung across the door.

For several reasons, Regina did not follow.

She had wanted to give Emma as much privacy as possible and following her into the dressing room would only call more attention to them both. Furthermore, she had been in that dressing room with Emma once before, and she knew just how small it was, and she knew exactly how Emma looked when she stripped off her clothes to put on her workout gear.

She did not want to be standing two feet away from her when Emma did that, because regardless of her intentions, she knew she would be tempted. It had been six weeks, and not a day, hell, barely an hour, had passed that she didn't think about Emma. What she couldn't tell Emma, and what she didn't want to think about herself, was how many times in those six weeks she had imagined how Emma's skin would feel under her fingertips.

So now she stood in the shadows where she could see the entire room and still be as close to Emma as she could be without actually climbing into the ring with her.

Twenty feet away, Emma jogged lightly in place on the soiled canvas cover of the ten-foot square ring while she waited for her opponent to adjust his gloves and get his mouthpiece between his teeth. She had been free sparring for almost three months with some of the men in her weight class. None of the other female kickboxers who frequented the gym were experienced enough to spar with her. The men accepted her as one of the regulars, and no one thought anything of working out with her. After the first few times she'd put one of them soundly on the mat with a roundhouse kick or a strong right cross, they'd forgotten she was a woman and had fought her with no holding back.

The young guy opposite her approached, a little aggression in his attitude. _Perfect._

She needed an outlet for her physical frustration and her mental turmoil. Regina's abrupt return and the sudden change in their relationship had left her reeling. Nothing would test her or distract her as much as being in the ring with someone who could potentially hurt her. She would be forced to focus and she would need to burn. Still, she knew that somewhere nearby, Regina was watching. She couldn't see her, and she didn't want to see her. _I want to forget her._

But she felt her.

And part of her wanted Regina there, even though she hated to admit how comforting she found the agent's presence. Regina was so very good at making her feel cared for, even when it was part of her job. From the very beginning, she's made Emma fell that she was what mattered and not just the status report or job performance evaluations that seemed to motivate some many of the dozens of agents who had guarded her throughout her childhood and into adulthood.

 _God, I hate that I love every single thing about Regina Mills._

Emma lifted her gloved hands and tapped them against those of her opponent, eager for the first contact, wanting desperately to erase Regina's face from her mind.

* * *

Regina watched Emma dance lightly across the canvas.

 _She's even better than she used to be._

Unlike most male kickboxers, who relied primarily on their punches for knockout, Emma had to depend more on her legs, which were, as for most women, more powerful weapons than her hands. This gives her the advantage of staying beyond the range of most of the other's punches and, with a well-placed kick, she could render a man unconscious. On the other hand, she wouldn't be able to weather too many direct blows to the face from a man her size or even a smaller one. As Regina watched, Emma effectively countered a volley of punches and pushed her opponent back with a nicely executed front kick to his thigh.

As she kept constant vigil of the people nearby in her peripheral vision, Regina allowed herself the luxury of simply looking at Emma. Her hair was pulled back away from her face and gathered at the nape of her neck, the few remaining wild curls secured with a rolled red bandanna tied around her forehead. She wore loose navy shorts and a cropped white t-shirt that left her midriff bare. The small gold ring in her naval glinted against the sweat sheen on her skin.

Watching the muscles ripple in her stomach, Regina stared at the ring and remembered how it felt to rub her palm over it. It was a memory she's looked back on many times since that first night they'd shared in Ashley's apartment, and the intensity of the image remained undiminished.

 _She'd been there close to an hour, waiting for Emma. She tried to kill time reading a magazine from a stack next to the sofa, but she couldn't concentrate. Too anxious. Too worried about Emma. She knew the agents who followed her to the apartment, and watched the building, would wonder what she was doing at Ashley's. Emma didn't make a secret of her sexual preferences, at least as far as her security team was concerned, but it was never wise to give anyone too much information of a private nature. And rumors of Emma having sexual relations with a Secret Service agent would make for a powerful discussion around the water cooler._

 _Regina reminded herself that she knew these agents, and she believed in her heart that they could be trusted to be discreet, but the habit of a lifetime of guarding her own secrets was hard to change. And there was more than just her personal privacy involved, there was a little matter of Emma's very public image. When and if Emma decided to share her private life with the world, because that's what it would amount to for someone in her position, it should be her choice and not because she had no freedom to choose._

 _Despite the potential problems, she couldn't wait to see Emma again. After resisting her for so long, now all she could do was think about her. When she heard the key turn in the lock, she got to her feet and crossed the living room toward the tiny foyer just inside the front door._

 _Emma stepped through, breathless and smiling, and deposited a bag and a bottle of wine on the small table nearby. For just an instant, she looked shy. "Hi."_

 _"Hi." Even that small word was hard to get around a throat suddenly tight with desire. She though that she had never seen Emma look quite so young. When Regina kissed her, she meant it only as a kiss of greeting. But they had seen each other for almost twenty-four hours, and they'd only one night together then. It had not been enough, and at that moment, it felt like it would never be enough._

 _One of them groaned, and each began frantically undressing the other right where they stood. Soon, they were pressed together half naked, unable to stop touching each other long enough to finish the job. Hungrily trading small kisses and small bites. Regina found Emma's breasts. She lifted them, squeezing a little harder than she intended as the astonishing thrill of finally touching her drove caution from her mind._

 _"Oh yes." Emma gasped, pushing harder into Regina's hands, working desperately to loosen the button on Regina's jeans. They were both in danger of falling in their eagerness to consume one another._

 _Finally, Regina wrenched her head back, gasping. "Wait! There must be a bedroom here. I really need to do this laying down."_

 _Eyes wild with urgency, Emma simply grasped the waistband of Regina's jeans where she managed to get the top button open and tugged. "Come on." she ordered, her voice husky with want. "Guest room. This way."_

 _Regina followed, slipping one hand around Emma's body from behind, smoothing her palm over the silky tautness of a bare abdomen. The small gold ring rubbed lightly against her skin, and she didn't think she'd ever felt anything quite so sexy. She stopped Emma just outside the door to the bedroom, pressing her bare chest to Emma's back, lifting both hands to cup Emma's breasts again._

 _With her lips close to Emma's ear, she moved her fingers to Emma's nipples and squeezed. "Yesterday, you made me beg."_

 _Emma jerked in Regina's arms, arching into her hands as Regina continued the pressure on her nipples. "Do you have a point, Commander?" She reached back with one hand, searching for the rest of the buttons on Regina's fly._

 _"Could be it's your turn to beg." Regina whispered, biting lightly at the skin below Emma's earlobe. She was about to slid her palm down Emma's stomach when Emma succeeded in opening her jeans and pushed her hand down the front._

 _"Fuck." Regina gasped as Emma's fingers slid through the wet heat between her legs. Her knees nearly buckled as Emma tugged at her. Wrapping her arms around Emma's body, she pressed her face to Emma's neck, floating for a moment on a wave of pleasure. Then she stiffened as the persistent pull of Emma's fingers drew her suddenly to the brink of orgasm._

 _"Uh-uh. No." she murmured, stepping back unsteadily, head buzzing with the thunder of blood, forcing Emma to move her hand. Shaking her head, she cleared the mist of arousal from her brain. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the throbbing that began in her belly and thundered through her limbs. "Not so fast."_

 _"Says who?" Emma turned in her arms and pushed at her jeans, ready to take her on the spot._

 _"Me." Regina kissed her again, pulling Emma's lower lip between her teeth, biting her lightly all the while backing her step by step into the bedroom. She kept her lips firmly on Emma's and grasped Emma's wrists, keeping them away. She'd never last if Emma touched her again. She was already twitching with the faint tremors of impending orgasm, and it wouldn't take more than a stroke to send her over._

 _When they hit the bed and fell backwards together, Regina rolled on top, pinning Emma's hands above her head with both of hers. "Not so fast." she whispered hoarsely again, just before she caught Emma's nipples between her teeth._

 _Emma moaned in surprise and struggled to free her hands, thrusting her hips against the thigh Regina had driven between her legs. "Let me touch you." she urged in Regina's ear. "Let me do it fast this time."_

 _"Soon." Regina murmured against her breast. It had been so long since she'd touch a woman this way, and she wanted Emma so badly for months. She'd denied it when she was in charge of her security detail, but she didn't have to now. "I want you so much."_

 _Emma's hands were in her hair when Regina slid between her legs and finally put her mouth on her. Those same fingers opened and closed erratically as Regina sucked and licked and tortured her with her tongue. When Emma pleaded, Regina slipped her fingers inside. And when she begged, Regina moved her hand slowly deeper. And when she cried, Regina let her come, stroking and thrusting and turning gently until every muscle clenched and relaxed a dozen times over._

 _Then she lay her cheek against the inside of Emma's thigh, exhausted and content, without a single ounce of regret. But even then, as she listened to Emma's breathing finally quiet, some part of her knew it was borrowed pleasure, because happiness, most of all, came with a price._

Regina flinched as Emma hit the canvas hard, the memory of that night dissolving in the demands of the moment. Fists clenched, she took one instinctive step forward, then forced herself to stop as she saw Emma get to her feet. Emma swayed unsteadily for an instant, but then seemed to shrug off the effect of the left jab that had caught her in the face, signaling her partner to come ahead again.

Regina watched her carefully for the rest of the session, which mercifully lasted only another few minutes. She seemed alright as she regained her balance and moved quickly to counter punches, even managing a spectacular sweep that put her opponent flat on his back, winding him for a minute. Still, Regina was happy when she climbed out of the ring and disappeared into the back of the gym.

When she emerged in a dry t-shirt, ready to leave, Regina joined her. "Nice fight." she said, relieved to see that Emma's eyes were clear and her motion steady.

Emma shrugged, smiling faintly. "I didn't exactly beat the crap out of him though."

"Close enough." before she could stop herself, Regina raised her hand and brushed her thumb across a bruise beginning to form on Emma's cheek where his glove had landed. "Maybe you should wear a helmet next time, Ms. Swan." she said softly.

Emma's eyes widened at the gentle caress. The touch was so tender it reached deeper than desire. Unable to take her eyes from Regina's penetrating gaze, she whispered, "I'll take that under advisement, Commander."

"Good. Because I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Yes, I know. That's your job."

There was no resentment in her voice, and Regina smiled, unexpectedly comforted by the first moment without anger they had shared all day. "That's part of it."

"Let's not go there again." Emma regarded her steadily. "You can tell your team to relax. I'm going home."


End file.
